Who We Are

The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is a Roma-led international public interest law organisation working to combat anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Roma through strategic litigation, research and policy development, advocacy and human rights education.

Since its establishment in 1996, the ERRC has endeavoured to provide Roma with the tools necessary to combat discrimination and achieve equal access to justice, education, housing, health care and public services.

Data Protection Policy

Major Achievements

As one of the leading NGOs working on Roma rights issues in Europe, the ERRC has:

Exposed and condemned the systemic abuse of Roma rights across Europe;

Focused public attention and political priorities on the human rights situation of Roma in Europe;

Contributed to the development of public interest law in the region, through litigation and legal training in the field of Roma rights;

Secured access to justice and redress for human rights violations for Roma across Europe;

Developed significant jurisprudence on discrimination in access to education and the state response to racially-motivated violence through a series of landmark cases before the European Court of Human Rights;

Influenced the human rights aspects of EU enlargement, through monitoring of compliance with the “Copenhagen criteria” by EU candidate countries and ensuring that the situation of Roma is addressed as a priority issue by both EU Member States and candidate countries;

Written several significant policy documents on behalf of the European Commission (Roma in an Enlarged European Union) and the Fundamental Rights Agency (Housing Conditions of Roma and Travellers in the EU and The Situation of Roma EU Citizens Moving to and Settling in Other EU Member States); and

Become one of the leading advocates in implementing anti-discrimination and human rights law in Europe.

Governance, Funding and Accountability

The ERRC is governed by a multinational Board of Directors consisting of Romani and non-Romani lawyers, human rights activists and businesspeople.

The ERRC receives funding from a number of sources, including private foundations, international organisations and governments. Further information about current donors is available upon request.

The ERRC maintains the highest standards of fiscal accountability, through staff and Board oversight and annual audits by external auditors according to the standards issued by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

Strategic Litigation

The ERRC has set in motion more than 500 court cases in 15 countries to bring to justice state and non-state actors who have discriminated against Romani individuals or have committed violence against them. It has secured over 2 million EUR in compensation for Romani individuals for the abuse they have suffered and the subsequent failure of their respective governments to ensure justice.

The ERRC engages in strategic litigation seeking to reverse patterns of human rights abuse and discrimination against Roma. ERRC legal work aims to empower Roma through law and strengthen the network of legal advocates working on behalf of Roma.

The ERRC is active in both domestic and international litigation. The ERRC supports local lawyers in domestic legal proceedings both professionally and financially. When domestic remedies are exhausted, the ERRC prepares legal submissions to international tribunals, including the European Court of Human Rights, the European Committee of Social Rights and UN treaty bodies.

Research and Advocacy

The ERRC’s extensive research programme has provided reliable data about the human rights situation of Roma. The focus includes racially-motivated violence against Roma and the impact of individual practices and structural forms of discrimination on the access of Roma to economic and social rights. This work aims to assess the impact of law and policy and contribute to awareness-raising, policy development and strategic litigation.

The ERRC works to ensure that human rights issues facing Romani communities are firmly on the political agenda in Europe and beyond.

Some recent and ongoing ERRC campaigns include support for: effective state responses to violence and hate speech against Roma; school desegregation; an end to forced evictions and other housing rights abuse; implementation of comprehensive anti-discrimination law; justice for victims of coercive sterilisation; and Romani women’s rights.

The ERRC has published over 25 book-length reports documenting the human rights situation of Roma in Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The ERRC has also produced more than 100 advocacy submissions to international treaty-monitoring bodies.

The ERRC works closely with various media through outreach, education and information sharing, in order to improve coverage of Roma rights related matters in Europe and ensure balanced reporting concerning Roma.

Human Rights Education

ERRC human rights education activities aim to empower Romani activists to promote human rights respect and equality of Roma, using the international human rights framework. The ERRC also targets other groups within wider society, such as judges and lawyers, to achieve these aims.

Romani and Traveller children in England are much more likely to be taken into state care than the majority population, and the numbers are rising. Between 2009 and 2016 the number of Irish Travellers in care has risen by 400% and the number of Romani children has risen 933%. The increases are not consistent with national trends, and when compared to population data, suggest that Romani and Traveller children living in the UK could be 3 times more likely be taken into public care than any other child.

There’s a high percentage of Romani and Egyptian children in children’s homes in Albania – a disproportionate number. These children are often put into institutions because of poverty, and then find it impossible ever to return to their families. Because of centuries of discrimination Roma and Egyptians in Albania are less likely to live in adequate housing, less likely to be employed and more likely to feel the effects of extreme poverty.